Wild and feral pig populations are expanding globally, causing ecological damage and welfare challenges that require humane and effective management approaches.
Feral pig management creates a welfare dilemma: allowing populations to grow unchecked causes ecological damage and suffering among native wildlife; control methods themselves cause suffering. Aerial shooting, when conducted by skilled marksmen, offers rapid death but wounding rates matter. Sodium fluoroacetate causes multi-hour deaths that welfare assessors consider significant. Trapping followed by on-farm slaughter provides more controlled welfare but is logistically difficult at scale. The challenge is managing populations humanely at scales of millions of animals. Improving marksman standards, investing in research into more humane poisons, and prioritising faster-acting methods are welfare priorities.